This notion that Bosh will somehow benefit from playing at a high level is utter nonsense.

The international game, from its coaching, culture and competitors, is as far from the NBA experience as the distance from Toronto to Beijing.

Bosh will be buoyed, but his memories of China will serve no purpose when the Raptors tip off their regular season on Oct. 29.

Bosh being Bosh and knowing how the media game gets played, he'll talk glowingly about the Olympic experience when the subject inevitably gets broached.

He'll say all the right things, but no one is going to remember his role in helping the U.S. defeat Spain.

No one is going to confuse Roko Ukic for Jason Kidd, Will Solomon for LeBron James or Hassan Adams for Kobe Bryant.

When surrounded by great players, Bosh continues to show that be belongs on the same floor.

Bosh didn't need the Olympics to prove that point.

What Bosh needs is to get mean, get his elbows in a defender's face, make the right decision out of double teams and learn from Jermaine O'Neal, who means more to the Raptors franchise player than any Spanish conquest or Olympic glory.

Assuming he stays healthy and assuming he accepts being the second option, O'Neal will take Bosh's game to that all-important next level and perhaps the Raptors will get out of the first round.